Media policy

Media policy / M. politics is a term describing choices involving legislation and political action organizing, supporting or regulating the media, especially mass media, and the media industry. Those actions will usually be prompted by pressures from public opinion, non-governmental organization, or from industry interest groups. They may also result from demands of political leaders.

Traditionally, separate policies were applied to print media, radio, television, public broadcasting, mobile and communications. These have converged in the digital infrastructure. This digitalisation produces markets that still lack consistent and rigorous regulation. In instances where regulations exist, technical innovations outpace and overtake existing rules and give rise to copyright violations, dissemination of misinformation and disinformation, online bullying and harassment, and distribution of hate speech. This has to be dealt with to defend intellectual property rights (see e.g. Digital Economy Act 2010) but artificial intelligence is eroding those protections. Efforts to address uses of digital media that create social harm are appearing across the globe.

Media policy take place at local, national, regional, and international levels and choices are influenced by political philosophies, governmental structures and processes, degrees of industry influence, and policy trajectories establish for previous forms of media and other industries.

Media politics is the subject of studies in media research and cultural studies.